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I'm a novelist and have an interest in space science and physics. I've been a programmer for more than 40 years and I like reviewing new and up-and-coming authors.
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Pi-Mars-v2
The clock is finished. If you want to build one yourself (it also tells the time on Earth), complete instructions and source can be found at the repository: https://github.com/stroggprog/mars-clock-2. The clock can also act as a slideshow for your family photos.
This time it comes with a complete menu-driven installation system that can install, uninstall, repair and upgrade. The clock can run on a DietPi operating system, and there are a comprehensive set of instructions on how to prepare a Raspberry Pi 4 for the clock. After that it's just a matter of cloning the repository and running the install menu.
Read on for further details.
News 11th Sep 2024
I'm working on a new physical Martian Clock, similar to Pi-Mars v1, but without the Electron framework, without the external libraries (some had developed security warnings as exploits had been discovered), and is much easier to update/maintain. It also works on a smaller form-factor, and handles leap-seconds in an even more intelligent way, reducing the number of calls to fetch IERS data even further. The clock is almost finished, so look for announcements in the next couple of weeks (or earlier!).
OC Downloads
On Friday 23rd September 2024, Orbital Calculator reached 2,000 downloads. Woot!
Upgrading Pi-Hole
I decided to upgrade my Pi-Hole installation. It was running on a RPI3b, with the boot partition on an SD card, and the file system on an SSD. It also used a PoE (power over ethernet) HAT, and apart from the fan on the HAT getting very squeaky and dusty, it was running rather warm.
Time to upgrade to an RPI4b booting direct from a 256Gb SSD. For heat management I embraced the Pi in a purple armour case. While I was doing this, it seemed like a good time to test my Raspberry Pi docking station.
Rust
I've been learning Rust (the programming language, not the online game), and as I get to grips with it's idiosyncrasies, I'm loving it more and more.
I've currently set myself the task of reproducing the functionality of my Mars Clock, which I wrote for the Raspberry Pi. The Mars Clock is intended as a permanently running piece of software in a hardware configuration to display the current time anywhere on Mars, using the Martian Calendar. It also displays information about experiments if you choose a location where an experiment landed (pancake or soft-landing both count). The display is highly configurable. You can read more about it on the Mars Clock page.
I'm not intending to reproduce the entire functionality of the clock, but provide sufficient functionality that it can keep accurate time and manage things like leap-second updates.